PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Hundreds of workers in the logging industry and their supporters gathered outside the Oregon Capitol on Wednesday morning to protest the cap-and-trade legislation that just passed the House on Monday night.
House Bill 2020 would create a cap-and-trade system that would control air pollution by capping the amount of carbon a business could produce. Businesses can emit more if they buy the rights from other companies who don’t use their limit. Oregon would follow California to enact such a policy.
Those opposed to the climate change bill say it would increase fuel prices and cost them their jobs. According to the Oregon Capital Bureau, a KOIN 6 News media partner, all Republicans and two Democrats voted against the cap-and-trade bill.
The bill now heads to the Senate and could be up for a vote as early as Thursday. However, Senate Republicans are considering staging a second walkout — potentially delaying the end of the legislative session — to block the vote.
Gov. Kate Brown is a supporter of the bill and will sign it into law if it passes the Senate.